Passenger elevator construction



Sept. 4, 1962 J. WINSTON PASSENGER ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 8, 1961 INVENTOR.

JAMES W INS 7 0M BY WM.

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3,52,3Zl Patented Sept. 4, 1962 3,052,321 PASSENGER ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTIUN James Winston, Rte. 3, Box 121416, Sacramento, Calif. Filed Aug. 8, 1961, Ser. No. 139,022 3 Claims. (Cl. 187-1) This invention relates to passenger elevators and is directed to the improvement in efficiency in the use of such elevators and the comfort of passengers using the same.

It is well known that passenger elevators and particularly those in oflice buildings are frequently used by persons carrying luggage or cases of various kinds and particularly briefcases. It is quite fatiguing for a person to stand in an elevator subject to frequent accelerations and decelerations especially if one is carrying a relatively heavy article such as a briefcase. If an attempt is made to rest the briefcase on the floor the act of doing so quite often interferes with other passengers and most frequently a person would therefore prefer to remain standing and bear the load of briefcase or whatever type of similar object he is carrying. Furthermore, there is always present the possibility that a briefcase or the like resting on the elevator floor will create a safety hazard since others may stumble over it.

The main object of the present invention is, therefore, the provision of means for conveniently supporting the Weight of a briefcase or the like in an elevator car.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for supporting the weight of a briefcase or the like carried by a passenger and at the same time not impairing the passenger carrying capacity of the elevator car.

Still another object of the invention is to improve the safety of a passenger elevator by providing means for supporting a briefcase or the like carried by a passenger so as to discourage the placing of such objects on the floor where they become a hazard to safety.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a simplified representation of an elevator cab showing one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section through a simplified form of an elevator cab showing a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view through the elevator cab of FIG. 1 showing how the invention is used by a person.

In detail, and first with reference to FIG. 1, the invention is adapted to be employed in a passenger elevator generally designated 1 having a floor 2, lateral sidewalls 3, 4 and rear sidewall 5.

Positioned along sidewalls 3, 4 and rear wall 5 are horizontally disposed article supports 6, 7, 8 respectively on which a passenger may rest an article such as a briefcase. As best seen in FIG. 3 the height of said supports above the floor 2 is such that a passenger 10, may rest a briefcase 11, thereon in a comfortable carrying position. The height of the supports 6, 7, 8 above floor 2 should be from fourteen to twenty-two inches and preferably about eighteen inches which represents an elevation at which the briefcase 11 may be positioned comfortably by the passenger without excessive lifting.

The width of the supports 6, 7, 8 need not be as wide as the average carrying case or briefcase, since all that is required is that the support take the weight of the article. The person carrying the case would normally hold the handle of the case and maintain it in a stable position. For this reason it is not necessary for the width of the supports 6, 7, 8 to be more than a few inches, preferably four inches, though such width may be as great as six inches without restricting the usable space in the elevator. In this last connection it will be noted that a persons shoulders are considerably wider than his corresponding width at his legs. For this reason, and referring to FIG. 3, it will be apparent that the supports 6, 7 do not reduce the capacity of the elevator since a persons legs would not be interfered with by the supports when the persons shoulders are in engagement with the adjacent sidewall of the elevator.

If the capacity of the elevator is critical, the rear support 8 may be omitted for the reason that passengers generally face the front of the car. In other words, as a practical matter it is most desirable to employ supports 6, 7 along the lateral sidewalls and omit the rear support 8.

In the modified form of the invention, shown in FIG. 2, the lateral sidewalls 15, 16 of the car 17 are provided with stepped portions 19, 20 respectively thereby forming horizontally extending supports 21, 22 which function in the same manner as supports 6, 7 of FIG. 1. The advantage of this modification is that a neat appearance is effected although the cost of building the car is increased somewhat.

It will be seen that the above described structure greatly increases the utility of the elevator car without sacrificing valuable passenger carrying space.

I claim:

1. In a passenger elevator having a floor and vertically extending sidewalls, means for providing a support extending alongside one of said sidewalls and below the knee level of a person and adapted to support the weight of an object carried by such person, said support being sufliciently narrow to permit such person to stand erect on said floor with one shoulder in engagement with one of said sidewalls without interference between said shelf and the leg of such person.

2. In a passenger elevator having a floor and vertically extending sidewalls: an elongated article support extending horizontally outwardly from one of said sidewalls at a height of about eighteen inches above said floor and adapted to support the weight of a briefcase or the like carried by such person. The width of said support being about four inches whereby said support does not interfere with the leg of a person standing on said floor with one shoulder engaging said one sidewall.

3. In a passenger elevator having a floor and vertically extending sidewalls: an elongated article support extending horizontally outwardly from one of said sidewalls at a height of about eighteen inches above said floor and adapted to support the weight of a briefcase or the like carried by such person. The width of said shelf being no greater than six inches whereby said shelf does not interfere with the leg of a person standing on said floor with one of his shoulders engaging said one sidewall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 143,013 Hubbard Sept. 23, 1873 276,396 Hall et al Apr. 24, 1883 568,733 Breed Oct. 6, 1896 

